Music industry veteran Clive Davis will be honored by NYU Tisch School of the Arts at the school’s annual gala. A graduate of the program in 1953, he’ll join fellow alumnus Ang Lee, who received an MFA in film in 1984. The event will take place Monday, April 6, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan.

“As both a music industry luminary and an essential member of the Tisch community, Clive Davis’s impact is immeasurable,” said dean Allyson Green. “Clive has continually reinvented the idea of the creative producer during his lifelong commitment to championing music artists. At Tisch, Clive’s dedication and generosity are reflected in his significant contributions to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, where his legacy and influence will reverberate with future generations of music makers. We’re excited to honor Clive and his fundamental role in developing an institute unlike any other in the world.”

The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, chaired by Jeff Rabhan, was conceived in 2002 as a new department — “the first of its kind to offer a four-year, degree-granting undergraduate program that recognizes the creative producer as an artist and musical recording itself as a creative medium,” according to NYU. In 2011, Davis gifted an additional $5 million to NYU Tisch to expand the department, creating the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.

Davis, an attorney by trade who graduated Harvard Law School with honors, has played a pivotal role in signing and developing many of the best-known artists of the last five decades including Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Neil Diamond, Simon & Garfunkel, Sly & The Family Stone, Earth Wind & Fire, Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, The Grateful Dead, The Kinks, Lou Reed, the Eurythmics, Dionne Warwick, Daryl Hall & John Oates and Carly Simon, among many others. Davis has helmed the labels Arista, J Records and CBS Records and has helped finance LaFace Records (TLC, Usher, Pink) and Bad Boy Records (Notorious B.I.G., Sean “Puffy” Combs). Since 2008, Davis, himself a five-time Grammy Award-winner, has held the title of chief creative officer at Sony Music Entertainment.

A 1991 recording of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” by Whitney Houston will be released on Friday, June 29. The song was first performed at a Tokyo concert in 1990 and features Houston at the top of her vocal game. The recording was intended for her third album, “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” according to the official social media account of Clive Davis, the former Arista Records boss who discovered and developed Houston to become one of the biggest pop singers of the 1980s and 1990s.

Also according to Instagram, Norwegian DJ Kygo looks likely to have remixed the recording. Otherwise, the only information given relates to the original performance of the song and the promised release date of “tomorrow.” (The song will drop at midnight East Coast time.)

“Higher Love” was originally released by Winwood in 1986 and was co-written by Will Jennings, best known for Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven.” Its lyrics tell of a higher purpose to life, lamenting: “Think about it, there must be higher love / Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above / Without it, life is a wasted time / Look inside your heart, I’ll look inside mine.”

Houston died on Feb. 11, 2012. She was found submerged in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and her death was ruled as accidental, though heart disease and chronic cocaine use were said to be contributing factors to the singer’s death.

The 14th annual Songs of Hope gala, held for the second consecutive year in producer Alex Da Kid’s sprawling Sherman Oaks compound, raised a record-breaking total more than $400,000 for the City of Hope’s cancer research initiatives. The highlight was the presentation of “Songs of Hope Beverly and Ben Horowitz Legacy Award” to leading specialist Dr. Stephen J. Forman from longtime advocates Zach Horowitz and sister Jody Horowitz-Marsh, in honor of their late parents.

“This is a charity that recognizes the work of songwriters,” said Sony/ATV Music Publishing CEO/Chairman Marty Bandier, who would later present his “Vanguard” Award to Sony/ATV client Sarah Aarons, the diminutive Aussie who co-wrote one of the year’s biggest hits, “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey.

“This is pretty different for me, it’s everything I’ve tried to avoid as a songwriter,” admitted the soft-spoken Aarons, whose inspiration was fellow Down Under songwriter Sia. “I still can’t believe I’m in America, let alone at an event like this. I keep asking myself, how am I here and how is this happening?”

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Venerable Clive Davis, introduced by board co-chair, Universal Music Publising Group N.A. President Evan Lamberg as “the greatest music man of all time,” was particularly moved by the occasion, having recently attended the funeral of Aretha Franklin, herself a victim of pancreatic cancer.

“It’s heartwarming to see a larger turnout every year,” he said during a red-carpet conversation. “Learning more about what the City of Hope has been doing and the ferocity of their commitment never gets old. It’s very humbling to be a part of.”

Davis handed out his “Legend in Songwriting” Award to a pair of recipients in Mike WILL Made It (Michael Len Williams III) and Benny Blanco, both of whom brought their beaming moms to help them celebrate.

“It’s just dope to be in the same room with so many successful, talented, hard-working people,” said Mike WILL, who recently co-produced a pair of tracks for Eminem’s chart-topping “Kamikaze” album, including the controversial Justin Vernon collaboration, “Fall.” “The City of Hope means a great deal to me because I lost my grandmother to cancer. To be honored like this, it’s like she’s watching down over me.”

A dressed-down Benny Blanco was similarly moved by the honor presented to him by Davis. “He’s the big dog, numero uno,” he noted. “Every day, I wake up and think they must have me mixed up with some other guy, that they’re going to find out about me. At the end of the day, I’m just a nervous Jew, but I’m so honored to be here and get this award.”

Universal Music Publishing Group Global Chairman/CEO Jody Gerson presented the first-ever “She Is the Music” Award to SZA, dedicated to “inclusivity and equality,” with a nod to Alicia Keys, one of the founders of the new initiative.

“SZA embodies the spirit of the female luminaries who are breaking glass ceilings,” said Gerson in presenting the award.

“I’m pretty shy,” insisted SZA, “Jody makes me sound way cooler than I am. I’m just a small-town girl with black and female experiences, part of an energetic thread. Cancer has struck in all parts of my life, high and low.”

Without mentioning the subsequent announcement of Jon Platt – who will be the City of Hope’s ‘Spirit of Life” honoree at their October 11 dinner — leaving Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, recently named Chief Operating Officer Carianne Marshall and Senior Vice President Theatrical and Catalog Kurt Deutsch presented their “Songs of Hope” Award to legendary Broadway composer Steven Schwartz, the man behind “Pippen,” “Godspell” and “Wicked.” Deutsch gave a touching speech about growing up as a “Broadway geek” in St. Louis, recalling that his bar mitzvah speech quoted from “Corner of the Sky,” one of Schwartz’s songs in “Pippen.” He ended it with another verse from “Beautiful City,” referencing today’s political turmoil, a song from the film version of “Godspell.”

Fellow Co-Chairman, Electronic Arts President of Music Steve Schnur presented the “Composer of the Year” award to legendary film soundtrack maestro James Newton Howard, who quipped that he was “40 years older than the rest of the honorees.”

In addition to Lamberg (pictured below, at microphone) and Schnur, other event Co-Chairs included Spirit Music Group Chairman/CEO David Renzer (below, at left) and The Davis Firm Founder/Principal Doug Davis, Clive’s son (second from left)

Universal Music Publishing Group, Spotify and Warner/Chappell Music will also present awards to honorees, with more information provided closer to the event.

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For the 14th consecutive year, the event is co-chaired by David Renzer, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Spirit Music Group; Doug Davis, Founder/Principal of The Davis Firm; Evan Lamberg, President of Universal Music Publishing Group, North America; and Steve Schnur, President of Music, Electronic Arts.

Schnur said, “For 14 years, Songs of Hope has brought our industry together for an evening of music that is literally lifesaving. And thanks to the ongoing support of friends and colleagues, our shared commitment to City of Hope’s vital mission is stronger than ever. This year, my co-chairs David, Doug, Evan and I invite you to join what will be an event that redefines respect, compassion and celebration.”

Lamberg said, “On behalf of myself and my co-chairs we could not be more proud that Songs of Hope continues, stronger than ever, in its 14th year. City of Hope makes a huge, positive difference in the lives of its patients and their families. Its doctors, researchers and all of its employees are very special people doing extraordinary things when it comes to changing lives for the better.”

Davis said, “As a cancer survivor, it is imperative to raise funds to further City of Hope’s compassionate patient care and groundbreaking research. This night has become one of my favorite nights in music, and I am thrilled to again co-chair Songs of Hope and this wonderful celebration of the song and the songwriter, which are often overshadowed by the recording and the artist. Songs of Hope is meaningful for me this year because I get to also work hand-in-hand with my father, Clive Davis, who will present the Clive Davis Legend In Songwriting Award to my friends Mike Will Made-It and Benny Blanco.”

Renzer said, “I am so honored to be co-chairing the 14th Songs of Hope with my incredible co-chairs Evan, Doug and Steve. It’s wonderful to see the event achieve new heights every year, contributing to the important life-saving work done by City of Hope. Thanks to all for supporting and attending this special event.”

This year’s music and entertainment sponsors include Spotify, Clive Davis, Sony/ATV, Electronic Arts, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner/Chappell Music.